Tenant LIED about getting deployed to get out of lease 7 months early

[a3593]

Hi all! Have a house in Virginia, whilst I live in Maryland. Found out after tenant moved out he is indeed NOT getting sent to Iraq-never was given any orders to go. (How foul to trivialize the sacrifices so many servicemen/women are making right now--but that is a different forum.) My issue is the court in the juridiction where the house is located is two hours from my home. A real pain in the @** drive. I want to sue for for the balance of the lease (7 1/2 months), but I want to do it in the jurisdiction where I live, where the court is a 20 minute drive. The lease has a clause that states : Both Landlord and Tenant waive trial by jury and agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction and venue of a court of subject matter jurisdiction located in the county where the rental house is located. Sooo...with all that said....am I in violation of that clause if I sue her in my court? Wasn't sure, because this isn't a disagreement about something in the lease per se, (Pet chewed up something, I didn't fix a leak, etc.) but about her lying and leaving me high & dry. So, can I sue in MD?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

You file in the county where the rental property was located. The lawsuit isn't going to go anywhere if you attempt to sue in Maryland.

Gail